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It Is the Best of Cities, It Is the Worst of Cities.

Salut, all. Glad to be back on board with you ladies. Over here in Paris, spring is back again, which means two things. First, the search for a decent ballet flat (or several). Normally, I go straight to Marc by Marc and don’t look back. But this season he hasn’t given me what I need (ie, something perfectly flat, a slightly-but-not-too-rounded toe, comfortable, and NO BOWS). Who did? Zara, that pan-continental beacon of affordable fashion. To wit:

I sent these pics to a friend in New York and she groused that she hadn’t seen them at her local. Does Euro-Zara have better stock? They were 25 and 50 euros, respectively. Anyone come across these babies in the States? Jump on them, because the capital-D designers aren’t coughing up much in the way of the basic flat this season.

But, speaking of feet, what I gain in Euro-Zara by moving overseas, I’ve lost in personal services. This brings us to point deux, regarding spring. If any of you are still operating under the illusion that French women are better groomed, stop right now. I won’t go into the difficulty in finding a decent wax, but voila, the evidence of the similarly lacking pedicure situation.

Here a pedicure cost upwards of 50 euros, they charge extra to apply the polish, a decent one is actually considered “medical,” and no one accepts walk-ins. Have you ever heard of making an appointment for a pedicure, as if your filing lady was a head of state?? Thus, I’ve been reduced to the home job. My skills are lackluster, but I’m not giving in without a fight. (When I can be bothered… which is clearly not very often.)

Back when I lived in New York I used to rail against the over-reliance on beauty professionals, and I still can’t really accept that there are women who actually pay someone else to tweeze their eyebrows. But here, the bar is so low that compared to the Frenchies, it’s like I’m willing to pay people to pick my nose. Obviously this kind of thing is all relative. Wherever you all are, what’s an acceptable level of habitual professional grooming? What’s too much?